Red Rose Around the Briar
by MischiefManaged08
Summary: An Arabella production: Lily and James- The beginning and the end with Maurauders, romance, mischief, Peeves and a tale in between. Rating might change.
1. Chapter 1

**...**

**Red** _Rose_** a r o u n d (the)** Briar

_Chapter __**1**_

**...**

People wondered what would have happened had it been different.

"Suppose he had given up…?"

"Suppose she hadn't given him the time of day…?"

And for those who knew them best, "Suppose she hadn't entered that compartment?" But speculation was pointless. Because Lily had entered that fateful compartment, James hadn't given up, and she had given him the time of day. It just didn't happen as expected.

**……….**

Lily pushed her way through the door trying to stop the tears flowing from her eyes. If only she hadn't listened to Severus. Now her sister would never talk to her again. Maybe she could talk to Dumbledore, maybe… She sat down in the corner by the window, barely registering the unruly boys sharing the compartment with her. They were ignoring her, after all, so why did it matter?

She had her head pressed against the cool glass, watching the hills roll by and letting her tears flow when Severus came in. "I don't want to talk to you," she somehow managed to state firmly, despite her sniff.

"Why not?" he asked.

"Tuney h-hates me. Because we saw that letter from Professor Dumbledore." Another sniffle escaped her.

"So what?" It was obvious this wouldn't matter the least to him if he were her.

"So she's my sister!"

"She's only a-" He was going to say 'muggle,' but he didn't think that would bode well. Fortunately for him, Lily was trying to wipe her eyes inconspicuously, and so didn't notice. "But we're going!" he blurted out excitedly. "This is it! We're off to Hogwarts!"

She wiped away the last tear and half smiled in spite of herself.

He brimmed with confidence at seeing her brighten. "You'd better be in Slytherin," he said complacently.

"Slytherin?"

A boy with messy black hair and glasses looked up at Severus in disgust. He looked well-cared-for, wholesome, next to the scrawny form of Lily's friend. Lily didn't realize it was only a matter of time before she felt a completely different sentiment for him then that which was currently beginning to boil within. "Who wants to be in Slytherin? I think I'd leave, wouldn't you?" James asked, turning back to the boy opposite.

There was no trace of a smile in his blue eyes. "My whole family has been in Slytherin."

"Blimey, Sirius! And I thought you seemed all right!"

A grin distorted Sirius's features. "Maybe I'll break the tradition. Where're you heading, if you've got the choice?"

James cut an invisible sword through the air, swelling with pride. "Gryffindor, where dwell the brave at heart! Like my dad."

Severus snorted, causing James to whip back around. "Got a problem with that?" he demanded.

"No," Severus sneered. "If you'd rather be brawny than brainy-"

"Where're you hoping to go, seeing as you're neither?" Sirius asked politely, and James roared with laughter.

Lily stood up, her fury overflowing. She glowered at the two in deep dislike.

"Come on, Sev, let's find another compartment."

"Oooooooo…" Sirius and James imitated her, the latter trying to trip Severus as he passed. Lily shot another glare his way before slamming the door.

"See ya, Snivellus!" one of them called.

Lily found her and Severus another compartment, nearly empty besides a sandy haired boy slumped in the corner, and sank into her seat with a sigh of relief. Unfortunately, that wasn't the end of Sirius and James's disturbances…

**………**

Lily was placed in a different house then Severus, but that didn't keep them apart any more than the expected Gryffindor-Slytherin rivalry. Despite all odds, they stuck together.

Third year found them sitting in the library whispering excitedly about the first Hogsmeade weekend over their homework. It would be the Saturday after next and James had already asked Lily fourteen times; she snubbed him each occasion. It was a habit of his to jump out at the most ridiculous occasions and 'pop the question' as Sirius put it.

As the jokesters of the school, James, Sirius, Remus, and Peter found it their duty to create as much bedlam as humanly possible. Being wizards, they discovered they could create even more. Not a day went by without a Slytherin being spotted pink or the suits of armor spontaneously sparring in the halls. Once the side effects and idiocy of it all was properly dealt with, credit was due for how advanced the magic was. Nevertheless, the fact remained that life was no more than a game for the four boys. And Lily was no exception.

She had heard him and his friends talk about it boisterously in the halls without care of everyone hearing. Sirius had been walking James through F.L.O.W.E.R. (Fifteenth Lesson on Winning Evan's Regard) while Peter scampered around taking bets. Well, what did he expect when he was _that_ arrogant? Remus alone had frowned on their behavior as he poured his essay. Lily rather liked Remus.

"Lily?" Severus asked, yanking her out of her reprieve.

"Yeah, Sev?" she sketched idly in the margins of her wolfbane essay.

"I was wondering-" he gulped and turned beet red as he leaned forward.

Lily raised an eyebrow, but he shut his mouth and glared at something behind her. She turned, and immediately wished she hadn't.

"Careful, Snivellus, I don't want you getting grease stains on my date for Hogsmeade!" James called, stepping out from the bookshelf he and Sirius we're hiding behind. Severus recoiled, his coloring rapidly changing between magenta and a nasty shade of puce.

"Shove off, Potter!" Lily whispered in deadly tones.

"Come on, Evans, one date wouldn't hurt."

The look she gave him suggested just the opposite. "Just because other girls would be thrilled to go around with a pompous toerag doesn't mean I'd make the same mistake. Come on, Sev." She started toward the doors. When she didn't hear footsteps behind her, she looked around to see Severus pointing his wand at James with hatred etched in eyes.

He opened his mouth to curse him but James was faster, "_Impedimenta!"_

Severus flew backwards into a shelf and crumpled on the ground, struggling to do so much as move as books toppled onto his head.

"HOW _DARE_ YOU?" Lily yelled, not bothering to keep her voice low anymore. "Undo it!" Her wand was pointed at the spot between James's eyes, and it seemed he would prefer if it was directed at something else.

"Well, he was about to curse _me_, you see," he ran a hand through his hair, eyeing the wand warily.

Several other students in the library had turned to watch now, and Madame Pince rushed over right on cue. "OUT!" she screeched, not bothering to ask what the devil they were doing; not when her precious books had already been involved.

Lily took her chance to mutter the countercurse for Severus and pull him out into the rush of students in the hallway. He still looked livid. She didn't care. As much as she didn't want to admit it, he _had_ started it. Not that there would have been an incentive if it wasn't for that… "Thick, arrogant, pigheaded…" she found herself muttering under her breath, and the look on Severus's face lightened considerably.

**……..**

A year later, Lily caught Severus more than once coming out of dark corridors with various shady Slytherins. He never bothered giving an explanation. In fact, had she not known better, Lily would have thought he didn't detect her awareness. It wasn't until one morning during one of his break-time rants that she finally got the chance to ask him about it.

"-and there's something strange about Lupin. Have you-"

She cut him off. "Yeah, I've noticed, Sev. I've also noticed the people you hang around with." Severus perceptibly paled; a feat, as his skin could already be mistaken for parchment. "Don't act like you don't know what I'm talking about, I've seen you with Mulciber and Avery. Why, Sev? Everyone knows they're into the dark arts."

Severus wilted under her stare. "It's all just a laugh, really, no big deal…" Students began heading back into the castle, leaving the two of them nearly alone.

"Dark arts are _not_ a laugh. Sometimes I just don't get you, Sev." She leaned back against a pillar, the better to measure his expression. Something was telling her she was losing him, something she didn't want to face.

His eyes rested on anything but her. For a brief instant they fell upon on a curious first year girl who watching them, causing her to squeal and disappear inside with her friends. This was _clearly _not something he wasn't keen on discussing. But Lily was persistent. "Erm, well-" he spluttered.

Thankfully for him, Professor McGonagall chose that moment to tell off the stragglers, proclaiming loudly they'd all be late for class. Lily rushed on to Herbology, leaving Severus to breathe a silent sigh of relief.

**…..**

Fifth year wrought more devastating disasters, for which Lily tried to convince herself James and his friends were wholly at fault. But one day, after a certain Defense Against the Dark Arts O.W.L., the nagging suspicion that had taken up residence in the back of her head was forced out into the open. There wasn't even relief at the realization she had been wrong. She wasn't losing Severus, she had lost him.

Tears streaked down her cheeks as she leaned against the window in the common room, much like she had once on the Hogwarts Express. Only this time, Severus, no, _Snape_ couldn't interrupt. The cool glass was soothing, almost as much the rain beginning to batter against it. She sighed, letting the calm fill her, block unwanted thoughts, reach down to her fingertips, ease the beat of her still racing heart…

"Lily?"

The beating sped up.

She kept her eyes squeezed shut, not wanting to see the face that she knew must be feet away. Her previously relaxed fingers wound their way wound around her wand as a list of possible hexes ran off in her mind. _Better that then other thoughts…_

James furrowed his eyebrows. Why did she have to turn a wand on him every time he tried to make pleasant conversation? "Lily, I-"

"_Save it Potter!"_ Lions were kittens compared to her snarl.

He gathered the thoughts that had been scattered when she opened her eyes- those beautiful, murderous eyes. His mouth opened, but words never had a chance as a jet of light flashed his way.

Lily didn't stop to admire her handiwork as she ran up to her dormitory, but the uproar that met her pounding ears told her she hadn't missed her target. She tossed herself onto her four-poster bed and blasted the hangings shut, not particularly wanting to talk to anyone. The list went on in her mind, so, afraid of casting a nonverbal spell, she threw her wand aside. It wouldn't do to set the room of fire, even if it would make her own fumes less noticeable.

After of few moments of certain confusion in the common room, Lily heard a pair of feet pad up the stairs. They stopped short of her with a squeak of the floorboards. The feet waited, rested, but definitely didn't hope. Not even feet truly wanted to be by Lily during one of her rages. All was silent until, slowly, they turned, pausing for a few moments before once more navigating the stairs. Lily imagined one of her friends hesitating by the door. It was probably Marlene. A pain clutched Lily as she thought of it; why didn't she ever give people a chance to talk to her? Potter was one thing, but Marlene? A friend? She turned over and let a sigh escape her lips. It was a fool that drove away friends. Silently, she vowed never to be that fool.

Back in the common room, people recognized the feet as belonging to one Marlene McKinnon. They carried her to a small group of girls in the corner, whose looks ranged between grim satisfaction, humor, and resigned disappointment. Alice alone seemed truly concerned for her friend, and the slight shake of Marlene's head could do nothing to curb the feeling. The girls sat in the quiet and listened to the people around them chatter on about Lily's spell work. They didn't even bother discussing it themselves: that sort of thing occurred to often. But Lily didn't usually transfigure her victim into a pincushion.

James, having just been Untrasfigured by his threesome of friends, looked at said friends with a bemused expression.

"Well, Prongs, I think she's finally taken a liking to you," Sirius remarked solemnly.

**……..**

Lily sat next to her dorm mates on the journey back. They had always been her friends, but, now that Snape had been removed from her hair like the scum he was, she had been spending much more time with them.

"-so then he told me he'd drop by tomorrow. He wants to meet me mum and dad." Marlene, a tall freckled Irish girl, sighed in ecstasy at how perfect her boyfriend, Gideon Prewitt, was. He was a year ahead of the rest of them, and Marlene had already been commenting on how unsatisfactory it would be to spend seventh year without him.

Lily tried to pay attention as the conversation turned to plans for summer holiday. It was difficult, being that she couldn't add much. Surely all she'd have to tell next year were tales of just how much Petunia had begun to hate her. Summer had never looked so unappealing. And so when a prefect came to tell them they had nearly arrived, she changed out of her robes grudgingly.

Once the train lurched to a stop, Lily grabbed her trunk and made her way down the passage behind her four dorm mates. Marlene lead the way, followed by Dorcas, who was searching for her Ravenclaw friend Emmeline Vance, then Elizabeth, and finally Alice Prewitt, who had stayed behind to give Lily a cheery smile. A great well of comfort previously unnoticed swelled up inside Lily at the sight of that smile. Maybe- just maybe…

On the platform everyone exchanged quick hugs, last minute belongings, and promises to write. Through the black haze Lily spotted her mom and dad, standing out of their element amid a sea of swirling cloaks. Petunia was absent as always. "Mum! Dad!" she cried happily, perhaps with just a twinge of regret, as she ran over to them. None of them mentioned Petunia as they shared a quick recap on the year's most prominent events. All had been well at home, but it was going to be better now that Lily's empty space would be filled, and both her parents glowed with pride as she explained how well she thought she had done on her O.W.L.s. (Lily would laugh at this later when her parents would ask just what Ordinary Wizarding levels were).

They chatted lightly as they headed over to the barrier. It was still some distance away when the smoke cleared to reveal two figures deep in discussion. Or rather, one. The other was staring forlornly at Lily, his messy black hair falling into his eyes. When he noticed her gaze, he promptly turned and walked out into the muggle world, leaving a bewildered Sirius in his wake. When he saw Lily, his mouth formed a perfect 'O' before he too took off through the barrier. By that time the threesome were halfway there, two quite unhindered by the odd behavior. Lily, however, had paused momentarily to stare at the space James and Sirius had disapeared. They were the farthest things she had from friends, and yet she couldn't deny the slight pang of guilt that left a lump in her throat. She had finally got what she wanted; James leaving her alone. Why did it upset her?

And so the summer of fifth year passed, and the students of Gryffindor Tower rushed straight through sixth year, until seventh year finally caught up with them.

* * *

There. The first chapter of my first fanfiction. I hope you liked it! Review!

Just a warning; I haven't really planned this out and there's a dozen other stories tumbling around in my mind, so it may take a while for me to update. But more _is_ coming- I promise!

**Disclaimer: It's all JKR's. I'm just filling in a gap.**


	2. Chapter 2

**...**

_**chapter **_2

**...**

"Lily!"

The girl in question was sitting on a large trunk in her room, absentmindedly turning a badge around in her fingers, and deliberately ignoring her mom's calling from the kitchen. _Head girl..._ It was brilliant, and she knew it. It was rather hard to forget when her parents took every opportunity to tell her so. They were just so proud, and it should have made her soar with joy, but her happiness felt… tainted. Tainted by the stubborn ignorance portrayed by Petunia. It was coldness borderline indifference every time they were in the same room together. More often than not, her older sister would simply turn her nose up and stalk out the house whenever she was nearby. And there was always that look on her face as if she smelled something rotten. It pained Lily to think that she was that something, but not nearly so much as when she thought of how close they had once been. Before she met Severus, before the Hogwarts letter, before the strange accidents that she was so thrilled to discover were magic…

"LILY!" Lily jumped gratefully out of her thoughts and seat as her dad's bellow shook the house. In a blur she was around the room as she stuffed the last quills and bits of parchment into her trunk. She made to drag it out of the room when an indignant 'hoot!' sounded behind her.

"Sorry, Thena!"

Her small short-eared owl gave her a reproachful glare and ruffled her feathers. She had been her present for getting head girl; _more of a burden than a gift, _Lily had thought the first time the owl nearly bit her finger off. Athena's temper died down after a few owl treats, but it was quick to rise when she was forgotten. _She should have my red hair,_ Lily thought irrelevantly. Tossing a treat into the cage, Lily grabbed both it and her trunk and headed out the door to the landing.

**…**

Twenty minutes later, Lily was entering Platform 9 ¾ for the last time. Leaning against the barrier, she pretended to be checking the lock on her trunk while gradually falling through the wall. A large scarlet train greeted her on the other side, billowing black smoke and all. Standing on her toes, she scanned the crowd for her friends. It didn't take long for her to spot a mane of brown hair heading her way. She stepped aside just in time to prevent being tackled by Marlene.

"Are you all right, dear?" asked Lily's mother, who had just appeared with Mr. Evans.

Somewhere within the heap of robes by the wall a muffled voice managed to say, "Never better!"

Lily laughed and pulled her friend up just as Alice bobbed over.

"Already falling under the point of Lily's wand? And we're not even on the train!" the bright-eyed girl laughed.

"Actually, my wand had nothing to do with it," Lily mentioned lightly. It was a common and usually correct assumption to make, after all.

Marlene stopped brushing the dirt of her robes to momentarily scowl at her friend. "No, you don't need a wand to wreak havoc on the wizarding world."

Lily smiled politely as Alice let loose another chuckle before glancing at the time.

"Come on, we should get on the train…" Lily followed Alice's eyes to the clock. Indeed, they only had three minutes left.

Lily and her parents exchanged quick hugs while her friends did the same. "We'll see you next summer dear, be sure to tell me about any boys!" Mrs. Evans whispered in Lily's ear, making her daughter half-smile.

Mary and John Evans were going on holiday that Christmas with Petunia to her boyfriend's parent's house in Yorkshire. Vernon Dursley was the perfect example of a muggle, and his distaste for the unusual could only be rivaled by Petunia's. Lily wished that her sister would find someone better, but she had long since learned the uselessness of voicing such wishes. It was only a matter of time before the two were engaged (Vernon was waiting for a promotion), and Lily would just have to get used to the idea. Until then, she'd just have to deal with the subtle hints her mother dropped about her finding a match. It wasn't that she hadn't dated anyone- she'd actually been quite sought after once Potter left her alone- she just hadn't found anyone that she truly cared about.

"If there are any," Lily promised before giving her dad a hug. She then turned to catch up with Marlene and Alice, who were waiting a few feet away.

Together the group towed their trunks and Athena onto the train, then leaned out the windows to wave goodbye to their families and as they faded out of sight. When the train finally turned the corner, Lily shut the window and turned to her friends. "Shall we find a compartment?" The two murmured their agreement and they headed down the train.

It wasn't until they were on the last carriage that they found a semi-empty compartment. Just Frank Lonbottom sat in a corner; he was a brown haired seventh year, quiet and calm, but most importantly, a fellow Gryffindor.

"Hello Frank! Mind if we join you?" Alice asked, slightly pink in the cheeks. He glanced up distractedly, as if he had been deep in thought, then nodded, flashing them a warm smile. Lily didn't miss the way his eyes rested on Alice.

"Thanks! I have to head out for a bit, though…" she said, stowing her trunk in a rack and pulling out her robes. She turned back around to see two pairs of raised eyebrows and a politely confused expression. Suppressing a smile, she reached into her pocket and pulled out her badge. The raised eyebrows were instantly abandoned in the place of excited grins.

"Lily! I knew it! I knew it!" Marlene squealed, fighting Alice for a chance to hug her friend.

"Well, of _course_ it's her! Who else would it be?" Alice said breathlessly, having surrendered to the taller girl.

"Head Girl? That's great!" Frank said kindly from his spot in the corner. Alice blushed; she had clearly forgotten they weren't alone. Lily just smiled.

"Thank you! But I really have to go..." It was great to finally feel excited about it, but she couldn't start shirking her responsibilities now. She quickly drew on her Hogwarts robes and fastened the badge. Waving goodbye, she backed out of the compartment and closed the door. Breathing a last laugh, she turned around and straight into James Potter.

"Oh, sorry, I didn't see you…" he mumbled, and he truly sounded like it. It had been over a year since he'd done such a thing on purpose, but naturally Lily didn't take that into consideration.

"I know you're used to people hanging on your every word, Potter, but I have places to be," she said coldly, beginning to walk away.

He didn't protest, so she sped up her pace, eager to keep it that way. Had she seen the pained expression that flashed across his face, she might have felt differently, but she didn't turn. She passed a compartment where a game of exploding snap was going very badly, then one where a group of third years were gossiping excitedly, then one where the fifth year boys had pulled up the shade to reveal an overcast sky. By the time rain started pelting the roof of the train, something began to nag her. She glanced around the hallway, searching for anything unusual to explain the source of the disturbance. She could see an escaped chocolate frog bounded along the stretch of carpet toward freedom, but other then that there was nothing. Shaking the thought from her head, she walked on.

Five minutes later she was pushing open the door to the prefect's carriage. It was like a rather spacious compartment, with a few squashy armchairs and a cupboard of treats from the lunch trolley. It was the third year that Lily had entered it, but before she had always had Remus at her side. She looked around at the two new Gryffindor prefects that replaced them; a lanky yellow-haired boy and a cheerful black-haired girl. They --Her eyes had traveled over the six other new prefects and the eight old ones when she realized something was missing. "Has anyone seen the Head Boy?"

**...**

"Explain."

Lily and James were standing in an empty compartment, the latter looking rather sheepish and the former quite obviously fuming. Five minutes after Lily had asked her question, James had slinked through the door, trying to appear inconspicuous. It had taken all of Lily's self control at the time to keep from demanding what he thought he was doing interrupting her prefects meeting and to merely glance at the badge on his chest; because normally, she would have stared. Who in their right mind would make Potter Head Boy? Had Dumbledore been imperiused?

"I was, er, late," James managed brokenly.

"Tell me you're capable of saying more than the obvious," shot Lily.

"I am," he grinned, but promptly stopped upon seeing her expression. "I was kept from, er, getting there, er, on time."

Lily glared daggers at him. "Yes," the single syllable conveyed much more than its literal meaning, "but why did you come at all?" At James's confused look, she added, "Who did you steal the badge from?" After all, that was the only logical justification to her.

It was just the sort of thing Potter would do, she thought. Take down the real head boy (if it was Remus, it would've been so easy), come up with some sob story and a charm if necessary, take the badge, and make a run for it. That was probably why he didn't act his usual prattish self in the hall; he didn't want to call attention to his wandering. He probably even thought she'd believe him; that she'd think he was a 'changed man,' just because he left her alone the year before. _Yes, that's it, _she thought, _this is just another one of his pranks._ Unfortunately, James didn't seem to agree.

"I didn't steal it, unless you consider accepting the letter it came in from the delivery owl 'stealing.' Honestly, Lily, aren't you the top of our year?" He screwed his face up into an expression of incredulity, but, like before, his eyes were unreadable.

Lily ignored the slight. Did he really just call her by her first name? Since when were they on first name terms? It irked her so much, she voiced it. "I didn't realize we were on first name terms, Potter." A dementor would've been proud of the ice in her voice.

"Well, I just thought- since we would have to work together, I mean- that-"

"Work together?" Lily repressed a groan at the thought. "That is supposing the owl wasn't confused. I'll have to check for use of dark magic, of course."

"Lily, don't you think you're being a little ridiculous?"

"Well, that's the centaur called the stars vague," she growled, but she colored nonetheless, knowing he was right.

James dropped the subject. "I'm sorry I'm Head Boy, but short of ordering Professor Dumbledore to change his mind, I can't do anything about it. So... let's just not attack each other every few minutes? I'd prefer to have all limbs intact by the end of the year... And no, I'm not going to yell at Dumbledore," he added, for Lily was looking hopeful.

"...Fine. Just don't be late anymore." As much as Lily didn't like the idea, she couldn't avoid it. She turned to leave, but paused, her hand lingering on the handle. "Why were you late?"

He grinned his empty smile. "The truth?"

"No, one of your lies."

He grinned wider. "There was a massive dragon trying to incinerate the middle of the train. I had to make peace with it, you see." James bowed his head politely and left the carriage, leaving Lily to wonder if he knew the meaning of sarcasm.

* * *

**Disclaimer: It's all JKR's. I'm just filling in a gap.**


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